KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

hammondjh-00479 A seemingly white girl is found murdered on Hampstead Heath. When it transpires she was mixed race, it opens up a myriad of characters from the deeply prejudiced to the professional Police detective who keeps an open mind all the way. The end? The very last person you'd expect, thereby making this another British Film Classic that shall hopefully be shown more often.

blanche-2 Excellent film, directed by Basil Dearden, who directed Dead of Night and Victim, two marvelous movies.Sapphire takes place in the '50s - the film was released in 1959 - in England. A young woman is found dead in a park. It turns out her name is Sapphire Robbins, and she was engaged to a young man, David Harris (Paul Massie). The autopsy shows that she was three months' pregnant, and David admits that he was the father.When Sapphire's brother (Earl Cameron) shows up, the superintendent in charge of the case (Nigel Patrick) is surprised that he's black. Sapphire was passing. The detective wonders if the Harris family knew - - and when they knew it. David had won a scholarship and was to go off to school - could he be saddled with a wife and child? His father (Bernard Miles) is very protective of him, and his sister (Yvonne Mitchell) is somewhat abrasive.This is the story of underlying prejudice and assumptions about black people that were pervasive at the time, particularly when this film was made. Notting Hill race riots took place in 1958. These prejudices are expressed by the inspector on the case (Michael Craig), especially the myths of black sexuality.Dearden liked to tackle these tough subjects, which he does very well, showing it as an underlying constant. Landladies have "white" houses, black friends dropped by Sapphire when she found out she could pass seem to understand her dropping them. The scene at the Tulips Club is the best in the film, with pulsating bongos and wild dancing. The camera veers all over the room, showing twirling skirts, legs, black people dancing with women who appear to be white. There a man tells the superintendent no matter how white a woman is, you can tell she is actually black because she can't resist the sound of the bongos. Very strong acting throughout, particularly by stage actress Yvonne Mitchell. One thing that shows that Dearden knew what he was doing -- people's reaction to death. When the woman in the park discovers the body, she doesn't scream. And when David learns of the death of Sapphire, he seems shell-shocked and numb. Sapphire's brother seems very calm, finally breaking down and asking, "How could anyone do this?" All very realistic, all not over the top.A must see - it is available on Netflix and on Amazon instant video.

kidboots British cinema in the 50s saw an explosion of realistic "kitchen sink" dramas that tried to explore the problems the post war generation faced. "Cosh Boy" (1952) dealt with kids running wild, "Violent Playground" (1957) with juvenile delinquency and the problems associated with high rise housing estates. Even though Janet Green's list of screenplay credits are short, each of them can take their place among the best British films of the 50s and 60s (except "Midnight Lace"). They usually featured strong story lines, often about minorities ("Life for Ruth", also with Michael Craig dealt with Jehovah's Witnesses, "Victim" was about homosexuality)."Sapphire" must have caused a sensation when it was first released. It deals with racism in all forms, white against black, black against black (one of Sapphire's former boyfriends says "My father would never allow me to marry Sapphire - she is only half black!!!").The film begins with the startling discovery of the body of a young arts student. When her brother comes down to identify the body, Sup. Hazard (Nigel Patrick) realises that Sapphire is black!!! From then on Hazard encounters racism at every turning. His partner (Michael Craig) says "these spades should be sent home to their own country". The landlady, is very protective of Sapphire but when she learns of the girl's heritage she is horrified. Sapphire's friend then gives the landlady a piece of her mind but when the landlady retorts with "When you introduced Sapphire to your parents - did you tell them she was coloured" there is silence. "Well I am not the only one who is racist" - that is extremely true in this film.Sapphire is pregnant (something else that would have shocked 50s audiences) and engaged to David (Paul Massie) whose family is a caulderon of racial tension. The mother is nice, the father (Bernard Miles) is an racist and the daughter, as a constable says "she's her father all over again". David is introverted and under the father's thumb. Yvonne Mitchell is riveting as Mildred, whose bottled up racism explodes in a scene that catches everyone by surprise (maybe not Sup. Hazard). She is married to a merchant seaman and has twin daughters, who she is very ambitious for. She is very jealous of the love she perceives Sapphire and David have for each other. Unfortunately, Sapphire is "passing for white" so the happiness is not going to last.Highly recommended.

robert-temple-1 This is one of the most shocking films ever made about the true depths of colour prejudice in Britain in the 1950s, and the violent hatreds of black people harboured at that time by the white British working classes, especially in London. The film is well-scripted, and boldly directed by Basil Dearden, and it shows without flinching the true state of feeling as it was in those days (with some strong anti-white prejudice by blacks thrown in, to demonstrate that things are never only one way). What is so utterly horrifying about watching all of this now is, that it really was all true then. It is inevitable that some of the characters both white and black should resemble stereotypes, perhaps for the reason that at that time, people genuinely were stereotypes. The story concerns a police investigation of a murder of a young girl who was a student at the Royal Academy of Music (half way through the film a policeman calls it the Royal College of Music; Londoners are always confusing the two separate institutions in that way, so perhaps this script flaw merely reflects real life). Her body is found on Hampstead Heath in London, and there are no clues apart from the initial 'S' (her name is eventually discovered to be Sapphire). As a crime investigation thriller, the film is solid and extremely well done. A spectacular cameo performance is given by the black actor Robert Adams as 'Horace Big Cigar', not long before he died. The acting is all reliable and convincing. Dearden is especially good at not allowing any of the women and children to scream when discovering a body or having a horrible experience: his technique was extremely subtle, and they instead stifle screams, a scream begins to form, and then they put their own hands over their mouths in horror. When identifying a corpse, the actor behaves as one would naturally do, with numb paralysed shock, remaining silent and staring. All the ridiculous Hollywood histrionics and stock reactions of approved hysteria and screaming females are eliminated from this very British film, in which there is no place for hysteria except with one black character who panics for story reasons. Sociologists should really see this film. However, it is so incendiary that I cannot see it ever being released again or even being shown on television, at least not in Britain. In fact, some of the comments in the film may even have become 'illegal' under the harsh new race relations laws, even in a fictional context! Anyone who thinks race problems have gone away does not know human nature. Sensitivity to small differences, such as skin colour, is so firmly rooted in animal behaviour (the isolation by the herd of the black sheep, the driving away of albino animals from the pack), that race hatreds are inescapable, and can only be suppressed, never eradicated. Seeing this film reminds one of this depressing aspect of life by a blatant portrayal of it which is almost too painful to watch.